What Salespeople Want from Their Manager

What Salespeople Want from Their Manager

What does your salesperson really want from you? What does he expect from the company? What do you need to do to find and retain great salespeople? The following may surprise you. In this era of rapid turnover one might think that money and benefits are the most likely answers. Not so!

Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach wrote an interesting article about this topic a few years back. She cited a survey by the Labor Relations Institute of NY. This was first done in 1946 and replicated several times since by others. Basically it lists the top ten things employees say they want and then lists the top ten things that managers think their employees want.

Employees say they want:

Full appreciation for work done.

Feeling “in” on things

Sympathetic help on personal problems

Job security

Good wages

Interesting work

Promotion/growth opportunities

Personal loyalty to workers

Good working conditions

Tactful discipline

Managers think employees want:

Good wages

Job security

Promotion/growth opportunities

Good working conditions

Interesting work

Personal loyalty to workers

Tactful discipline

Full appreciation for work done

Sympathetic help with personal problems

Feeling “in” on things

So, feeling appreciated and being part of the team top the list of what’s important to employees. That’s more important to them than good wages and job security. Sure income is important but you can’t buy loyalty. You have to earn it by making your people feel part of the team. They have to know that you care … that you have their back.

How well do you understand the needs of your salespeople? Here’s a simple exercise that you can do in just minutes:

Write down the top 5 things that you THINK your salespeople want from the company.

Have your salespeople write down the top 5 things that they want from the company.

Compare the lists. If they match perfectly, you’re on the ball. If not, you need to work on your communication skills.

Oliver Connolly coaches and mentors a limited number of sales managers every year. For more information please go to www.clevelstrategic.com or call him at 1 561 480 0563